Knowledge, attitude and premarital screening practices for sickle cell disease among young unmarried adults in an urban community in Lagos, Nigeria.

Introduction: sickle cell disease (SCD) refers to a group of inherited blood disorders that are life-long and affect many people globally. An estimate of 2.3% of the Nigerian population suffer from SCD and about 25% of adults have the sickle cell gene. Premarital screening for sickle cell gene is considered one of the methods of preventing new births of children with SCD among the young adults. The study assessed the knowledge, attitude, willingness to take premarital screening test for SCD and factors influencing knowledge among young unmarried adults in an urban community in Lagos, Nigeria. Methods: the study was cross-sectional descriptive among 300 respondents who were selected using multistage sampling technique. Data were collected using a pre-tested, interviewer-administered questionnaire and analyzed using SPSS software, version 25. Univariate and bivariate analysis were conducted with level of significance at p ≤ 0.05. Results: the mean age of respondents was 21.2± 3.5 years, and most 188 (62.7%) were males. About 139 (46.3%) and 165 (55.0%) of the respondents respectively had good knowledge and positive attitude towards SCD and premarital screening. Only 43% of the respondents knew their haemoglobin phenotype, however, majority (92.4%) were willing to have Hb phenotype test done. Knowledge of SCD and premarital screening was statistically significant with age, level of education and occupation of respondents (p<0.001). Conclusion: this study found less than half of the respondents with good knowledge, about half had positive attitude and poor premarital screening practices of SCD. Therefore, community-based health education and awareness programs on SCD and premarital screening among young adults is recommended.

Stigma, discrimination and non-disclosure among young people living with HIV in Lagos, Nigeria.

Introduction: young people living with HIV (YPLH) constitute a significant population towards ending the AIDS epidemic. About half of YPLH are undiagnosed and one-third of new infections occurring among them. Stigma and discrimination remaina predominant enigma in the social response to HIV. Methods: this was a descriptive cross-sectional study among 124 YPLH aged 15-24 years selected by non-probability sampling from four antiretroviral centres targeted at young people across Lagos State. Ethical approval and informed consent were obtained. Data analysis was done using Epi info software version 7 and the level of significance was set at p<0.05. Results: the mean age of the participants was 19.4±3.2 years. Among the stigma variants, public stigma was the highest (48.4%), followed by anticipated stigma (20.2%), internalized stigma (14.5%), and enacted stigma (10.7%) while 7.3% of respondents experienced all forms. Thirty-seven percent of respondents had experienced one form of discrimination, with the most common form being 'treated with hostility by strangers´ (14.5%). The disclosure level was 56.5%. The most predominant reasons for non-disclosure were fear of rejection by other people (57.3%). Diagnosis at an earlier age and living with a single parent were associated with lower disclosure levels (p<0.001). Conclusion: overall stigma levels were found to be low, with differences in the individual stigma variants. The most common form of HIV-related discrimination reported in this study was being treated with hostility by strangers. Fear of rejection by other people was the main reason for non-disclosure among YPLH. The use of a multidisciplinary approach is needed to reduce the impact of stigma and discrimination among YPLH.

Prevalence and determinants of intimate partner violence among adult women in an urban community in Lagos, Southwest Nigeria.

INTRODUCTION: intimate partner violence (IPV) is a global public health problem of human rights concern. It is a global issue, regardless of social, economic, religious or cultural group. Ever experienced IPV is a risk factor for many acute and chronic diseases and or stress-related conditions among women. This study determined the prevalence and predictors of lifetime IPV among women in an urban community in Lagos, Nigeria. METHODS: a descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted among 400 respondents from April to September 2019. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to obtain information from respondents. Data analysis was done using SPSS Version 22. Descriptive analyses were performed. Associations were explored with Chi-square test; multivariate analysis was done with logistic regression at p≤5% level of significance (95% CI). RESULTS: a total of 400 adult women aged 18-73 years who have been in an intimate relationship for at least 1 year participated in this study. The mean ± SD age of the respondents was 36.72 ± 11.74 years. Lifetime prevalence of IPV was 73.3%. The significant predictors for IPV were; being employed (OR=0.461; 95% CI=0.230-0.924); witnessed parental violence (OR=1.909; 95% CI=1.023-3.563); partner consuming alcohol (OR=1.669; 95% CI=0.999-2.788) and partner having other sexual partners (OR=2.104; 95% CI=1.174-3.771). CONCLUSION: community-based interventions by government and other stakeholders are needed to empower women, reduce exposure of children to IPV at home and provide enlightenment education on IPV in communities.

Predictors of Client Satisfaction Among Recent Users of Health Services in Lagos, Nigeria.

Client satisfaction is an important measure of quality of care as it provides information on how well health service providers meet clients' values and expectations. The study was cross-sectional and analytical in nature. Data were obtained with the use of an interviewer-administered questionnaire. Respondents (n = 994) were a subset of a larger group of community members recruited for a study on quality of health care who had used a health facility for care within 3 months prior to data collection. A total of 94% of clients were satisfied with services received although client satisfaction rates were higher with private than public health facilities. Waiting time of less than 20 minutes (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 9.35, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.08-41.67), cheap cost of all services received (AOR = 7.58, 95% CI = 1.95-29.41), and the ability of the health care provider to offer explanations clearly to clients (AOR = 6.21, 95% CI = 1.90-20.41) were predictors of client satisfaction. However, the use of a government-owned hospital (AOR = 0.23, 95% CI = 0.08-0.63) was predictive of client dissatisfaction. Only service characteristics were predictive of client satisfaction. Improvement in service delivery is recommended.

How does the public perceive healthcare workers in Lagos? A comparison of health workers in public and private health facilities.

BACKGROUND: The perception of healthcare workers (HCWs) by community members is dependent on the quality of services rendered by HCWs and contributes to utilisation. The objective of the study was to assess the perception of health workers in both public and private facilities by residents of Lagos State. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using mixed-methods approach. Respondents (n = 2000) were selected using a multistaged sampling technique from four local government areas. An interviewer-administered, pre-tested questionnaire developed for the study was used for data collection and focus group discussions were held. Domains assessed included competence, work attitudes, interpersonal skills and unethical behaviour. A perception index was generated. Data were analysed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences version 22, with level of significance set at 0.05 for quantitative data and ATLAS.ti software (Scientific Software, Berlin; version 7) for qualitative data. RESULTS: At least seven out of ten participants (>71%) perceived the HCWs highly in the areas of professional competence, attitude to work, responsiveness and interpersonal skills. Out of a maximum of 12, doctors had the highest mean perception index (10.6 ± 1.9), laboratory scientists had 10.1 ± 2.1, pharmacists had 10.0 ± 2.3 and nurses had 9.6 ± 2.7. A larger proportion of respondents had a significantly better perception of workers in private facilities more than those in government facilities. CONCLUSION: Perception of health workers was high and was better in privately owned facilities. Periodic retraining of health workers and regular assessments of health facilities are recommended.

Breastfeeding Knowledge and Practices among Mothers of Children under 2 Years of Age Living in a Military Barrack in Southwest Nigeria.

BACKGROUND: Human milk is uniquely superior as a source of nutrition for infants, and breastfeeding has many benefits. This study determined the breastfeeding knowledge and practices of women who have children aged 0-2 years living in a Naval Barracks. METHODS: This descriptive cross sectional study was carried out among 220 women in a Naval Barracks selected using systematic random sampling method. Pre tested questionnaires were administered by trained interviewers, and data was analyzed using Epi info 2000 and Statistical Package for Social Sciences version 19. RESULTS: There was generally fair knowledge about breastfeeding among the women. Most of the respondents (97.3%) had ever breastfed their babies, 56.5% of them initiated breastfeeding within an hour of delivery, 24.1% admitted that they gave pre lacteal feeds, 74.1% practiced exclusive breastfeeding for a mean period of 4.98 months and 30.7% engaged in bottle-feeding. Several factors were significantly associated with breastfeeding practices. CONCLUSIONS: Breastfeeding practices varied among the respondents despite the fair knowledge. GLOBAL HEALTH IMPLICATIONS: This study reveals the need to educate women and communities worldwide particularly in low-income countries about good breastfeeding practices. Targeting these women will help to improve maternal and child health.

Modifying sexual behaviour of patients attending human immunodeficiency virus treatment centres in lagos.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES: This study was carried out among patients attending human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) treatment centres in Lagos to assess their sexual behaviour, conduct a health education intervention on safe sexual behaviour among the patients in the study group and re-assessing the sexual behaviour in both control and study groups. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A multi-stage sampling method was used to recruit 253 control and 256 intervention patients. The study sites selected were HIV treatment centres in Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (control), and Ifako-Ijaiye and Isolo General Hospitals (intervention). A pre-tested interviewer-administered questionnaire was used for data collection. The study site intervention consisted of health education seminars. Post-intervention data were collected after 3 and 6 months. Total study duration was about 10 months. RESULTS: At baseline, there was no statistically significant difference in the sexual behaviour of respondents in both groups. Post-intervention, the notable effects of this intervention on the sexual behaviour of the study group were a 37.7% rise in condom use at last sexual exposure, a 74.3% increase in consistent condom use in the last 3 months, a 74.3% rise in consistent condom use with regular partners and a 39.0% rise in consistent condom use with casual partners. CONCLUSION: The modification of sexual behaviour of respondents achieved in this study has shown that dedicated interventions to increase the practice of safer sex can be effective. More of such interventions are required to stem the spread of HIV in Nigeria.